Alabama redistricting effort targets Black congressman Shomari Figures ahead of midterms

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and former Montana Senator Jon Tester traveled to Alabama twelve days before the midterm elections to campaign for Democratic Representative Shomari Figures. They visited Dothan, a city in Houston County where Donald Trump won 73 percent of the vote in 2024. The area is now part of Alabama's second congressional district.

Republican lawmakers redrew the district after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act this year. They removed Figures' hometown of Mobile and several Black Belt counties, adding the mostly white and rural Wiregrass region in the Southeast. The goal was to reduce Black voting power and make the seat easier for Republicans to win.

“The people of Alabama have a chance again to say this is a moral moment — not on my watch.”

Figures has responded by rallying Black voters in cities such as Montgomery and Tuskegee while also speaking to voters in conservative areas. He addresses concerns about rising prices for food, fuel and fertilizer. A crowd of 400 to 500 people packed a downtown building in Dothan for a recent rally.

Television advertising spending in the district has risen from almost nothing to nearly 10 million dollars in the past seven weeks. Democratic groups are outspending Republicans, according to AdImpact. Figures is running against state lawmaker Rhett Marques, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Booker said the election gives Alabama voters a chance to send a message on voting rights. He stated he will not stay seated while anyone tries to take away their power. Figures told supporters that the deck has been stacked and the rules changed in the middle of the game.

Figures was first elected in 2024 after a federal court ordered new districts. The court ruled that the Legislature had unlawfully diluted the voting power of Black residents. Alabama's population is 27 percent Black.